The Los Angeles Dodgers are rolling, even without Mookie Betts at the top of their lineup. Manager Dave Roberts’ squad is 51-31 and on a four-game winning streak as of June 27. Could they upgrade their lineup further by pursuing Toronto Blue Jays shortstop Bo Bichette?
The 26-year-old has seen his name churning through the rumor mill this season. With MLB’s July 30 trade deadline about one month away, Bleacher Report’s Joel Reuter put together 10 trade proposals to help contending teams. Here’s what he put together for Los Angeles to land a new shortstop:
Dodgers receive: shortstop Bo Bichette
Blue Jays receive: shortstop Joendry Vargas, left-handed pitcher Justin Wrobleski and outfielder Zyhir Hope
MLB.com ranks Vargas (11th), Wrobleski (14th) and Hope (20th) within L.A.’s top 20 prospects. That might seem like a steep price to pay, but it’s one they can afford. Before Opening Day, the Dodgers were ranked as having baseball’s eighth-best farm system.
Acquiring Bichette would be more than just a half-season rental, too. The shortstop is under contract through 2025 after signing a three-year, $33.6 million deal ahead of 2023. He’s making $12.083 million this year and is scheduled to earn $17.583 million in 2025, per Spotrac.
Adding Bichette Would Take Pressure off Betts
After a lackluster spring from Gavin Lux, the Dodgers decided to make Betts their primary shortstop in 2024. Before this happened, he had racked up just 98 innings at the position in the major leagues. He’s performed well offensively, posting a .892 OPS with 10 homers and 40 RBI in 331 plate appearances. Adjusting in the field has been tougher, making nine errors in 65 games. Betts also said that being an MLB shortstop is the “hardest thing” he’s ever had to do. Acquiring someone else to play this position would allow Betts to move back to second base.
Bichette has gotten off to a slow start in 2024. He’s hitting .234/.285/.337 with four homers and 28 RBI in 281 plate appearances before landing on the injured list with a calf strain. However, he’s been among the best offensive players at his position the past few years. Between 2021 and 2023, Bichette slashed .298/.339/.476 while averaging 24 homers, 34 doubles, 89 RBI, 94 runs scored and 14 steals. He was named an All-Star twice and finished within the top 20 of American League MVP Award voting all three seasons, per Baseball-Reference.
Bringing in Bichette would give the Dodgers a top-tier shortstop for at least the rest of 2024 and 2025 while allowing Betts the opportunity to return to a more familiar position when he returns from the injured list.
Dodgers Could Possibly Benefit From the Blue Jays Deciding to Sell
Blue Jays general manager Ross Atkins discussed the possibility of trading Bichette or first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. at the trade deadline on June 2.
“It just doesn’t make any sense for us,” Atkins said on MLB Network Radio. “There will be occasional times when you’re talking to other executives, when they’ll ask if you’d consider it, and we just say it’s not something that we have spent any time on. Because they are so talented and such great teammates, they are attractive to other teams, so they will call.”
Despite these definitive comments, a lot can change in a few weeks. As the market evolves and interested teams keep calling, Toronto could be tempted to change course. Ahead of June 27 games, the Jays are in last place in the American League East with a 36-43 record. That has them 14.5 games out of first place and 6.5 games behind the final AL Wild Card spot.
While the Dodgers aren’t necessarily focused on finding a new shortstop, they could take advantage of Toronto’s situation and meaningfully upgrade their roster for the stretch run. It’s a worthy option to investigate after a $1 billion offseason.
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